Storm Over Europe:1939-1941
by Empty Promise
Summary: "A look at not only the battles, but the reasons behind them, and the allied failure to keep Europe out of enemy Hands"-Colonel S.L.A Marshal, United States Army ... "The Wars often overlooked chapter is brought to light like never before"-Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, Karlsland Imperial Army, (Ret.)
1. Chapter 1 The Calm Before the Storm

**Storm Over Europe: The Battle for Europe 1939-1941**

 **By Peter Von Luck Hartmann Lufftwaffe (Ret.)**

 **Copyright, 1954,** **Albatross Books**

 **...**

 **For My brothers...all of the men i fought with, for my father and for my wife i write this for them...**

 **...**

 _ **Foreword**_

 _ **It has been said that the First Neuroi War was "The War to End All Wars", a savage campaign in Europe and other places around the globe, that lasted almost five years, fighting in Africa, Orussia and the Middle East among other areas, conflict that saw everything from battles on the high sea's waves, to fighting in flat desert lowlands, the Great War saw it all...**_

 _ **The Pocket of Neuroi resistance between Karlsland, Gallia, Ostmark and Romagna would see almost five years of hell, ending in the Spring offensive of 1919, men and women from almost a dozen nations, from Liberion to Orussia would fight against a single foe, some side by side, shoulder to shoulder in the hell of the trenches, others alone with their own nations, some even at home, working to keep them supplied, a alliance of all mankind against a foe of unthinkable strength that would throw down petty rivialry for common survival, something that sadly wouldn't last till the next war, but the conflict saw both the best of us, and the worst of us brought to the surface.**_

 _ **But despite earning her nickname, she was not the last chapter in conflict on that scale, she was merely the preview to a war, twenty years latter, that would crush Europe worse then the last...**_

 _ **-Major Hans Von Luck, Karlsland**_ ** _7th Panzer Division "Gespensterdivision" (Ret.)_**

 **...**

 **Chapter 1** ** _: The Calm before the Storm_**

As a young man, i learned to love my nation. Karlsland über alles is one of my earliest memories, learning the anthem of my homeland at the young age of three years, my father, a military man himself, like his father before him wanted to instill a sense of nationalism in my brother and i. We both learned the history of not only Karlsland, but our grandfathers, from Grampa Otto, a sailor who died in Jutland in 1916, to our great grandfather, who served under Fredrick the Great (1) during the Seven Years War.

I think this, and my own service in the war, allows me to judge the events that took place from the Fall of 1939, to the Summer of 1941.

The year 1939 would bring forth unto the world, a war it had never before seen, the last war's scale being almost moot in comparison, but well today we may blame "No One" and say "It would have no matter what" that isn't true. In 1937, the Fusoan Army began battling Neuroi forces in Greater Mongolia, these battles were somewhat small in scale, but the use by both sides, of heavy Artillery and Air Power left civilians dead in almost every battle.

The signs of a Neuroi resurgence were all there, but when allied leaders met in 1938, they payed little heed to this idea, only minimum preparation was given to their armed forces, and this is likely more due to petty bickering between them then the impending threat of the Neuroi.

The Munich Confrence of 1938 shows this all too well, Kasier Willhelm the IV, Prime Minister of Britannia Neville Chamberlain, Ostmark Chancellor Wilhelm Miklas, and Gallian Prime Minister Édouard Daladie seemed to have other agendas in mind. Both Karlsland and Gallia wanted the other to limit his military forces, their shared border and twenty years since fighting side by side, causing tension to rise between them like a balloon. Ostmark similar, wanted Romagna to keep it's warship out of it's own waters, their ships often finding themselves in standoffs with the Ostmark _Kriegsmarine._

And these misgivings were not set at the confrence alone either, in the North, a three way argument between Baltland, Suomus and Orussia was brewing in the waters of the Baltic Sea over fishing rights, that seemed to be leading to a Naval War between the three powers. These issues came to the forefront in Munich. The issue that should have been at hand, the Neuroi and what was clearly a resurgence, was barely mentioned at all by any deligate or leader.

In his 1949 autobiography. (2) Kasier Wilhelm the IV says _"...We had no way at the time of course, of realizing that the black devil loomed over Europe..."_

Other leaders made similar assumptions, the idea of a second Neuroi War brewing, and more over having to prepare for it, pay for new military training and raising taxs to pay for it all, well also drafting millions of men and women wasn't the way you won favor with the public, one only need to look to Liberian President Woodrom Willson, during the First Neuroi War, he refused to enter the war, believing that the Neuroi would leave no combatant Nations alone, despite the sinking of dozens of ships, some even bearing the stars and stripes of his nation, it took the Neuroi's 1917 sinking spree, in which almost 40 ships, cargo and passenger from almost a dozen nations, some even from the United States, were lost, to bring Liberion "Over There" to the allies aid.

The real reason no one believed the Neruoi would return is simple.

They didn't want to, despite evidence of build up in smaller expanding pockets in Asia, and of strange weather patterns over the skies of Europe, they ignored them for a sense of blissful ignorance...

And that left Europe at the Neuroi's mercy when the war began...

...

(1) In more then one dispatch dating to the 1740s, Fredrick make's mention of a "Captain Von luck" under his command

(2) _Mein_ _Reise Auf den Thron *_ My Rise to the Throne*


	2. Chapter 2 Return to Battle

**Chapter 2: _"Return to Engagement"_**

 ** _"_** ** _We shall not let this injustice stand by"_ -Kasier Willhelm the IV, on the Neuroi attack on Ostmark**

...

On a calm September day, in 1939, the fragile peace in Europe that many had held so dear and tried to keep, came to an end. On Ostmarks Northern and Eastern Borders with Karlsland and Orussia, the Neuroi hives appeared, the sky not far from the river Ohre, and the land was blackened by hoards of enemy air and land craft, the Ostmarkian armed forces were caught off guard, and what forces were not hit in the opening lighting attacks, were woefully under armed to fight off the invasion, only four under strengthened infantry divisions could be fielded in force against the Neuroi's advance, with the reserve troops being slower to muster.

On September 4th, the Neuroi spearhead met this small force, under _Generaloberst_ Andras Kovács. a Great War veteran who was the nearest high ranking officer in the area. They met on the shores of the Elbe river in the province of Bohemia not far from the historic city of Prague. He choose the spot the north east, where the river buldges forwards, to make his stand. The forces under Kovács were still, outgunned for this fight, they had only ten pieces of field artillery, a dozen machine guns and no armor, with less then 400 men, he would spend two days holding back the Neuroi off, blowing every bridge between the city and the beasts for almost twenty miles, unless they wanted to spend several days advancing around his force, they would have to go _through_ him if they wanted Prague.

And on September 4th, 1939, the First Battle of the Elbe took place, Ostmarkian troops held they're ground, as Neuroi troops tried to ford the crossing, with bridge laying forms.

 _"We heard the crack of rifles, a mist had risen that morning, through which we could not see the other shore of the Elbe, but up and down the line, we could hear fighting, and in front of our own position, before a bridge we'd destroyed the day before, they came forward, bodies flat like a plowed field, and dark as night. They were trying to "repair" the bridge, to cross over._

 _We would not let them! I pulled my_ _Mannlicher_ (1) _to my shoulder, and fired, watching it ping off the black flesh of my enemy, i worked the bolt, and pulled again, now joined by my comrades..."_ (2)

The Neuroi, using newly formed bridging units, began an operation to cross at the remains of the few bridges left semi standing. Despite the defense, Kovács troops were outnumbered and forced to retreat, losing almost half their numbers on the shores of the Elbe, pulling back through the forest to there rear. But to their credit, well they held the Neuroi back, for three days, the city of Prague was evacuated, and time was given of vital need to allow the Army and Air Force of Ostmark to form for war.

The Neuroi took Prague, but the city was a gutted wreck, leaving it of little vaule besides a staging point, and with the force they had lost in battle, it took them several days to form more combat units to fuel the advance. The loss of such a historic city was greatly felt on the people of Ostmark, but it didn't break their spirit. instead, it became a rallying cry, besides the likes of the Greek's Eleleu!" or Liberion's "Remember the Maine", the recruitment offices, were packed as young men, unsure of war, none the less agreed to avenge the loss of Prague all across Europe as the allies geared forth towards war. This rest in their main advance, a lull in fighting, also allowed fresh regulars from the 14th and 11th rifle battalions, along with 2nd Field Artillery and 3rd _Tartály_ (3) to form up a more solid defensive line, and with one key advantage.

Air Support.

Up until this point, the Ostmarkian _Luftfahrtruppen_ had seen little action, due to it's somewhat small size, it had not been ready to sortie at a moments call, but this inaction, in an ironic sense, is what saved it, as we saw in latter campaigns, the Neuroi targeting airfields first, to gain air supremacy on the battlefield, but due to the prewar size of Ostmarks air corps, they seemed to ignore their airbase completely, this would come back as a thorn in their sides, as despite it's size, the small air force would not sit idle by. launching raids into captured territory, and using Karlsland taught doctrine, to support their defensive positions.

Many historians attribute this to the Neuroi's specific targeting of grounding air power latter in the war, as a direct result of this lesson learned in Ostmark. From the 5th to the 9th of September, the Neruoi advance continued with only small pockets of resistance, most being bypassed in the push forwards. On the 10th, near the city of Burnn, the _Luftfahrtruppen_ struck back. From out of the sun, came almost two dozen fighter bombers, they straffed the neruoi's vanguard. tearing them to ribbons with bombs and bullets, before infantry and tanks mopped up the rest, in less then an hour, the Neuroi had been halted at the coast of almost 150 of their own dead. As General Adelbert Kis put it "A good start".

By now, the army had organized itself, and had set up a real defense against the Neuroi, be it, the one that had worked in the last war. Massive trenchs kept them at bay, alongside mines, and AT guns. The Neuroi would spend five days fighting to enter Burnn, and would waste five days of the advance on it. Despite its age, the tactics that had been honed in 1915-1916 would hold the enemy at bay for close to a week, before they managed to overrun the lines. By the third week of September, it seemed the Neuroi were pushing deep into Ostmark, with the nation's army only being able to fight holding actions against her. It seemed the black hearts would march on Vienna in less then a week, from there, using the highway network built between the wars to cut off all of Western Ostmark from her army. But on the 22nd of September, the border near Innsbrok seemed to shake as Panzers IIs with tri colored flag of Karlsland draped across them crossed the border to aid an ally...

...

(1) The Standard issue bolt action rifle of the Ostmarkian Army Corps.

(2) Except taken from _"From the First Day"_ by Tobias Kuskina

(3) The Ostmarkian word for "Tank"


End file.
